Mackay pair propelling love for flight

THE establishment of a Qantas group pilot academy in Mackay would give the struggling general aviation industry the boost it sorely needs.

Dan and Claire Christensen, two halves of Mackay's family-run aircraft maintenance company Chrisair, have been fighting tooth and nail to keep general aviation strong in a climate of over-regulation and ageing aircraft.

But a pilot training academy would create a ripple effect through the community, with more people interested in learning how to fly, or pursuing careers in the wider industry.

"If the Qantas school came here, that would build that culture again and that would flow through the community from young people seeing such a presence of people learning to fly," Ms Christensen said.

"They'll start to think that that's something they can achieve as well when they see it's already happening.

"I think in Mackay, people feel really proud about what we do have here so if that [the Qantas school] were to build people will start to think of that as an option for themselves."

She said it would potentially open up opportunities for CQ University to start up courses that will train engineers and maintenance crew.

Mackay and eight other regional Australian centres are in the running to be the home of the $20million Qantas Group Pilot Academy, after muscling out about 50 other cities in the first round of selection.

The Qantas Group Pilot Academy is expected to open its doors to students in 2019 and will represent an initial investment of up to $20 million to establish the new facility. About 100 pilots will be trained in the first year.

Mr Christensen is a third-generation aviator. His father Neil started up Chrisair in 1992, and his father, Dan's grandfather, became involved in planes when he was recruited to train pilots to fly DH82A Tiger Moths in the war. Neil Christensen and his brother also founded Mackay's Tiger Moth Museum.

Chrisair employs about five to seven staff staff and their customers fly their aircraft from places as far as Alice Springs, Brisbane, and Cairns.

Mr Christensen said the biggest thing is trying to get people interested in general aviation, which can be hard considering the cost and heavy regulation.

"Aviation over the past number of years has declined, probably due to regulation... the tourism industry is the number 1 thing that keeps the general aviation industry going," he said.

"[Regulation] scares a lot of people away. If you've been in it long enough you do learn a lot about it... you get used to it, but I'd hate to be someone new trying to start to learn all the regulations.

Mr Christensen said aircraft were ageing, with the planes they maintain now in their 40th to 50th year of life because new aircraft have become unaffordable for recreational pilots.

A Federal government report into the general aviation industry, released in December last year, found several sectors, including private flying and flight training activities has declined since 2010.

"The general aviation industry in Australia has experienced a number of challenges, particularly since 2010, due to a combination of economic, demographic and regulatory factors," the report stated.

The average age of the most popular group of aircraft in general aviation, small single engine aeroplanes, is 36.4 years.

Ms Christensen said aviation is "just one big adventure".

"We once took a trip with the family when the kids were young quite randomly to Longreach and went and had a look at the Qantas museum," she said.

"We weren't even gone 24 hours and it was such a cool trip.

"Our vision is to keep general aviation strong and for it to continue, so anything aviation related is great for us and makes it easier to build on that mission."

Member for Mackay Julieanne Gilbert said business like Chrisair would certainly benefit from Qantas establishing a school in Mackay.

"Chrisair is well positioned to really grow their business and train young people," she said. "It's an exciting time for everybody who is involved in aviation that we've got this potential opportunity.

"It's great for business and it's great for our students."

Greater Whitsunday Alliance CEO Garry Scanlan said the general aviation industry and businesses like Chrisair will be instrumental, considering the number of planes Qantas will have to store, maintain and fuel to train its students.